Downward Spiral
by tashaxxx
Summary: Leo starts to fall into a pit of depression Sequel titled upward climb
1. Chapter 1

**Spoilers for Waterloo Road series 10. **

**Warnings: possible triggers for self-harm**

Blood welled up from the small cut on Leo's wrist. It stung but that wasn't what Leo was laying attention. Strangely enough the blood slowly flowing from the shallow cut held his attention as it dripped onto the tiled floor of the bathroom. He hadn't meant to cause the cut but he'd noticed his Father's razor blade just sitting on the counter and all the pain and anger from the last few weeks came welling up. Leo didn't know what had possessed him to put the cool steel to his wrist and press down but he had. And now he seemed unable to pull himself from the trance as he watched the blood drip.

"Hurry up or we're going to be late!" Vaughan Fitzgerald voice carried up the stairs, pulling Leo from his own thoughts and back to reality. Quickly Leo wiped the blood from the floor and cleaned his wrist. It had stopped bleeding now and Leo felt his thoughts re-ordering. Leo felt guilt welling up as he thought about what he'd just done. He knew it was wrong and he should probably tell his Father or maybe Justin but it was just the one off. It wasn't like Leo was going to make a habit of it. The urge had been a mistake. Nothing else and nothing more. Except as Leo went to go downstairs he felt himself glancing back to where he'd placed the razor. Before he knew what he was doing, he put it in his pocket and left the room.

"What where you doing up there?" Allie asked.

"Nothing." Leo said, nervously pulling at his sleeve to cover the small cut.

"Well, you're here now so we better get going." Leo nodded. Justin was just heading down the drive when Leo went to climb into the back with Floyd and Tiffany. He went to say something to his brother but Justin had already walked away without so much as a glance back at him.

"Come on Leo, we're going to be late." Tiffany said, giving him a gentle pull into the car. Leo sighed and climbed in. The drive to school was relatively uneventful but Leo felt more self-conscious than usual. Maybe it was a guilty conscious. The razor was still in his pocket and Leo felt himself fingering it, wondering if he should use it again or not. When Vaughan turned around to ask if they were alright Leo instantly regretted the thought. As the car pulled up outside the school, Leo decided he would get rid of the blade as soon as he had the chance to.

His first lesson of the day was PE with Mr Reid, his least favourite lesson. His Mum had used to give him letters to get out of this lesson but his Dad wouldn't let him. It wasn't that Leo disliked PE; he just didn't enjoy being compared to his brother. In their old school, Justin was brilliant at everything, even here, causing all these problems, Justin was still the best at everything and their teachers all compared Leo with his brother. Mr Reid was one of the worst, telling him to work harder at the games they were forced to play but Leo had never been overly athletic. Maybe if he'd managed to become friends with some of the people in his classes then he'd enjoy it more but he wasn't.

The students in the school weren't exactly unfriendly; they just weren't over-excited to become friends with Leo. He couldn't decide if it was because the head-teacher was his Father or if Justin's attitude had made the other students hate them. Either way Leo found himself isolated from his fellow pupils.

…

Break came around slowly and Leo was just deciding whether to try and find Justin when he felt the razor in his pocket. He'd forgotten it was there and as he fingered it he had a tiny urge to feel the cool metal on his skin again. Except that was ridiculous. Leo shouldn't be thinking these things. That morning was an isolated incident nothing more.

Out of the corner of his eye, Leo saw Justin so he called for him to wait up. "Not now Leo, I'm busy." Justin replied as Tiffany walked down the corridor and Justin pushed past Leo to follow her.

Leo didn't move for a second as he watched his brother go after Allie's daughter. It should have been a good thing, to see his brother being friendly to Allie's children rather than trying to break her and their Father apart except tore a little at Leo seeing Justin leave for Tiffany just like their Dad had left for Allie. Except Leo was being ridiculous. Justin was still there and Tiffany was nice, just like her Mum.

"Move out of the way." A girl with big black hair, that Leo thought was called Shaznay, pushed Leo out of the way. She murmured to Lisa and they both laughed as they walked away. Leo fingered the blade again and was just considering to use it again when the bell went, signalling the end of break.

…

Leo forgot all about the blade in his pocket for the rest of the day until he got home that night. He'd decided to walk home that day, having enough of being cramped in the back of the car. Anyway, he thought he could do with the fresh air after the strange day he'd had. Leo expected his Father and Allie to be at the house when he got back so when he got to the house to find the car missing he was a little worried.

"Mum and Vaughan went out." Floyd said as Leo walked into the house. "Tiffany went out and I don't know where Justin is."

"Where are you going?" Leo asked upon seeing that Floyd was changed out of his school things.

"Out, Mum'll be back soon." And with that Leo was alone in the house. It wasn't the first time that Leo had been left alone while the others went to do their own thing but for some reason this time there hit a nerve with him. It wasn't long ago that Leo would have loved the peace and quiet of the house with no one else in the house but now all Leo wasn't was some company.

Taking off his jacket, Leo remembered the razor in his pocket so he took it out and placed it on his bedside table. He sat there for a while, just looking at it, trying to work up the nerve to just get rid of it. The sound of the door opening and his Dad and Allie's voice's drifting up the stairs made Leo start a little. He pulled the blade back into his pocket as he headed to the top of the stairs.

He heard Allie's voice drift up towards him. "They're all out."

"Finally, some peace and quiet. If only they'd all just stay out of the house for a while." His Dad answered and Leo felt tears come unbid to his eyes. Before he knew what he was doing, Leo went down the stairs, meeting Vaughan and Allie in the hallway. "Leo?" He didn't stop at his Father's questioning statement, just pushed past the two of them and out of the door, trying desperately to keep the tears from falling.

He didn't know how long he walked but when he eventually stopped Leo saw he'd come to the harbour. Leo's fist was around the razor and he slowly pulled it out of his pocket. Glancing around, slowly, Leo put the cool blade to his skin. The tears had gone now as Leo pressed deeper into the cut he'd made that morning. As the bright red blood welled up, Leo felt all the pain he was feeling inside fall away. The stinging pain didn't really hurt, instead it was a relief. As if his emotions were being made physical.

As the blade went deeper and deeper Leo started to relax more and more. Finally he dropped the blade back into his pocket and just watched the bright red blood drip onto the floor.

**Hope you enjoyed and please review **


	2. Chapter 2

"Have you seen Leo?" Vaughan asked as Floyd came inside. He'd been on edge as soon as his youngest son had particularly out of the house. Allie had managed to stop him from following Leo but it was dark now and Vaughan was understandably panicking about where his youngest son was.

"He was here when I left." Floyd replied.

"I'm sure he'll be back soon." Allie said but Vaughan just shook her hand off his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Tiffany and Justin both came into the house together. Somehow, Tiffany had managed to get Justin to open up a little more and Vaughan was almost certain something was going on between the two of them but right now he was too worried about where Leo might be.

"Leo he's missing." Allie told her daughter and Vaughan could see the minute that Justin flipped to anger.

"What did you do?" The older boy yelled at Allie.

"She didn't do anything." Vaughan told him. In truth, that had been him. He hadn't realised someone was in the house when he'd said he wanted to kids to stay out of the house for a while. Of course Vaughan hadn't meant it to be mean, only that he wanted a little time alone with Allie but it was obvious from the way Leo's reaction that his youngest had taken it the wrong way. Leo had always been more sensitive than Justin, something made even more evident when Olga had left. He just hoped Leo didn't go the same way Olga had gone because he didn't think Justin or even himself would be able to handle Leo going into meltdown.

"Why aren't you looking for him then?" Justin's shouting brought Vaughan out of his own thoughts.

"Leo probably just needs some time alone." Allie was saying as Tiffany went to put an arm on Justin's shoulder. Justin just pushed the arm away as he glared at Allie.

"You don't know anything about what he needs. And if you're not going to look for him then I will." The last was aimed at Vaughan who was about to say something more when the door opened.

"See, he's back now." Floyd said as Leo walked into the room. Leo looked pale and his eyes were red but other than that he seemed fine.

"Where were you?" Vaughan asked as he pulled Leo into a hug. His youngest froze for a second but then awkwardly hugged his Father back.

"Sorry." Leo muttered, not meeting his Father's eyes.

"We'll talk about this later but you must be freezing." Vaughan frowned then. It was cold outside and Leo hadn't put a coat on.

"Go and get warmed up and we'll get you something to eat." Allie added.

"I already ate." Leo said but Vaughan's frown stopped him from arguing further. Sometimes Vaughan wondered if his youngest ate enough, considering the size of him.

"Either way we'll get you something." Leo only nodded, going from the room a little meekly. Justin sent a glare at Allie before following his younger brother upstairs.

…**..**

Justin leaned against the door to Leo's bedroom. "You don't have to watch me you know." Leo finally snapped. The older of the two just shrugged and collapsed onto the bed.

"Where'd you go?"

"Nowhere. I just needed to get out of here." Leo replied and Justin might have believed him if not for the fact that Leo didn't wander off without telling anyone where he'd gone.

"Dad was worried." Leo just shrugged. "You gonna tell me what's wrong?"

"No." Justin could have argued but instead he just shrugged.

"Whatever." Getting up from the bed, Justin gave one more glance at his brother before leaving the room. It was obvious something was wrong with Leo; it had been obvious for a while now, ever since their Father had left. The problem was, Leo just didn't want to talk to him about it and there wasn't anything Justin could think to do to force his younger brother to talk to him.

…

Leo collapsed backwards onto the bed when Justin finally left. He was feeling even more guilty about worrying his Dad and brother but it wasn't like he'd planned to leave for too long. And anyway, he was feeling a lot better having had some time out of the house.

A knock on the door made Leo start as his Dad walked in. "Allie made soup." Leo didn't say anything as his Dad placed the bowl on the bedside table and sat next to him. "You know I didn't mean what I said." Leo nodded, not trusting himself to say anything. He heard Vaughan sigh in what was probably frustration. "If you won't talk to me then how about Justin?"

"Nothing's wrong." Leo mumbled, unconsciously rubbing at his aching wrist. The but he'd made had stopped bleeding before he'd even headed back home but the dull sting of the blade pressing into the skin was just now turning into a dull ache.

"Leo." Vaughan grabbed Leo's hands into his. The younger tried not to flinch at the sudden flash of pain at the tight grip his Dad had on his injured wrist. He didn't want his Dad to find out about what he'd done, which probably should tell him that it was because he knew what he'd done was wrong. "I know this situation with your Mum's hard on you and Justin but I can't help if you won't talk to me."

"You can't know how hard it is." Leo found himself yelling at his Dad. "I miss her." Vaughan didn't say anything just pulled his youngest son into an awkward one armed hug.

"I know, but she'll be better soon." Leo didn't say what he was thinking after that. Because he knew his Mum would be fine. What he didn't want was to go back to living with her without his Dad.

…**..**

"Is Leo alright?" Allie asked as Vaughan came back into the kitchen. Tiffany, Justin and Floyd had disappeared again now.

"He's missing his Mum." Vaughan replied, worry etching onto his face. He'd been so focused on Justin's attitude that he'd neglected to think how hard Leo might be taking everything. "Leo won't talk to me."

"Maybe he'll talk to Justin." Allie said and Vaughan couldn't help but smile a little. She really was trying to help, even though Leo and Justin weren't her kids. Vaughan couldn't help but love her for that.

Though there was still a slight nagging in the back of his mind. Leo had always been so like Olga and Vaughan just couldn't help but worry his youngest son might go the same route Olga had.

…**.**

That might Leo couldn't sleep. Instead he just sat up on the bed in the dark, trying to ignore the urge to bring the razor down again. Everything told him what he was thinking was so wrong and yet it was all he thought about. A way to release the feeling that his family didn't want him.

His Father had left for Allie. His Mum had left him and Justin. And now Justin was so engrossed with making Dad and Allie's life hell that he was ignoring his brother. Maybe Leo really was all alone so maybe no one would care if he did this. It wasn't really bad, not if Leo really thought about. The pain gave Leo a release, just like Justin's anger did. So really it was only natural and no one needed to know.

**Please review and hope you enjoyed :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow, I didn't expect to get so many reviews or views of this story so thanks to everyone who's reading and I hope you enjoy **

A week had passed since the first time and Leo's arms were now littered with numerous cuts going along all along his arms. Some were deeper than others, while others where simply shallow. But Leo felt more relief than he had in months. Even Vaughan and Justin had noticed and had finally stopped harassing him with questions about how he was feeling. It was strange really and Leo couldn't understand why he hadn't thought of doing this before. It would have stopped all the emotions at his parents break-up boiling inside of him. He felt sort of empty now, not that it was a bad thing.

He was just about to put the blade to his wrist again when he heard a noise outside of the room. Leo only just had enough time to roll down the sleeves of his shirt and hide the razor in his jacket pocket when Floyd pushed the door open.

"Sorry, have you seen my tie?" Leo shrugged in answer. "You getting a lift today."

"Walking." Leo replied. He'd been walking more often than not for the last few days, preferring the solitude than being cramped in the small car.

"Okay, I'll tell Mum." Floyd frowned at Leo for a second as if he was debating on whether to say something or not but he must have thought better as he left the room. Leo sighed in relief.

Taking the blade out of the draw, Leo slowly drew the steel across his arm. Once the blood had more or less stopped, Leo grabbed his coat, bag and left the house without so much as a goodbye to the others inside.

…**..**

They'd all noticed it. Over the last week Leo had withdrawn into himself more and more. He didn't seem to want to talk to them or even do anything with them. The younger Fitzgerald had started taking his meals in his rooms but Floyd was almost certain he wasn't eating them. On the one occasion Vaughan had forced Leo to eat with them, he'd only picked at the food until his Dad finally said he could leave.

Floyd was finding it a little worrying and he knew he wasn't the only one. Justin and Vaughan had been hovering over Leo, only pulling back slightly when it was obvious Leo wasn't going to say anything to them. Floyd wanted to say something to them about not forcing Leo to talk about what was wrong but he didn't think it was his place. His Mum and Tiffany where also thinking the same thing but none of them dared say anything to Justin and Vaughan just brushed it off, saying everything was fine.

Except it wasn't. Leo had always been quiet around them but now they were lucky if the younger boy said 2 words to them in a day. Floyd had tried to talk to his Mum about it but she had just said it wasn't their business and they should leave Vaughan to deal with it. Though Floyd knew Allie was getting a little worried if the way she kept sending more and more food into Leo's room was anything to go by.

He hadn't really lost his tie that morning but Floyd had felt a strange urge to go and check on Leo so had used it as a pretence to do so. When he'd gone into the room he had caught a glimpse of something that had made him freeze. It looked like angry red lines criss-crossing across Leo's arms but as soon as he saw them Leo had pulled down his shirt and they were covered. Of course Floyd thought he was only seeing things because Leo wouldn't do something like that. Would he?

…

Justin was eating lunch alone today, like he had done nearly all week. For some reason Leo had been skipping lunches, choosing instead to disappear from Justin. Leo had told Justin that he was with friends something Justin might have believed if no for the fact his brother was a terrible liar. As it was Justin didn't know where Leo went or who he was with. The problem though was Leo had closed off, refusing to speak to him and Justin knew that pushing his younger brother further to talk about what was wrong would only make Leo clam up more.

"Can I sit?" Floyd asked, getting a customary glare from Justin. Usually he would say something to get rid of Floyd but at this moment his thoughts were turned to Leo. Anyway, he'd had to be more careful about his hate of Allie's family ever since his Dad had had that little talk with him. There was also the added bonus of Tiffany sitting with him at lunch as she was nearly always with Floyd.

Justin knew that Tiffany fancied him, thanks to reading her journal, and was actually enjoying the attention the younger girl gave him. The pleasure of Tiffany's' company was only increased by the fact that Justin was almost positive that if Allie found out about him and Tiffany 'close relationship' then the impending argument between her and his Dad could cause the to break up.

"I need to tell you something." Justin just glared at Floyd though he saw Tiffany's pleading look at the corner of his eye. "I'm worried about Leo."

"Yeah right." Justin scoffed but Floyd just carried on.

"I think he's been hurting himself." This grabbed Justin's attention. Floyd was looking at Justin uncomfortably while Tiffany was sending him comforting looks.

Ignoring Tiffany, Justin asked: "What makes you say that?"

"I saw cuts on his arms this morning. I think you should talk to him."

Justin jumped to his feet in an instant. "My brother isn't hurting himself and you should stay out of our business. Both of you. Leo isn't like Mum." Justin found himself shouting at the other two before storming out of the cafeteria.

How could they think that Leo was hurting himself? Just because his and Leo's Mum was in a clinic for depression didn't give them the right to think that. To make something like that up. Leo would talk to Justin if something was wrong. He wouldn't hide something like this from him. Anyway, he was the messed up one, not Leo. Justin knew Leo had taken Dad's leaving and then Mum's going to that clinic hard but Leo wouldn't have hurt himself. There was no way.

Except there was a nagging feeling in the back of Justin's mind that maybe Floyd was right.

…**..**

Leo's day had gone from bad to worse. First he'd gotten next to no sleep the previous night, not an uncommon event but still annoying especially when he knew he had a test that day. Then when he'd finally gotten to school, after missing his bus so being forced to walk which almost got him late, he'd found out he'd left his English book and homework at home. This had resulted in him having to explain to Mrs Lowsley why he couldn't hand in his homework in front of the whole class. Then during the same science lesson he'd zoned out for a whole 10 minutes and when Mrs Lowsley had asked him to pay attention while doing the experiment he had promptly put the wrong amount of liquid into the container, causing the classroom to be gassed out with whatever gas they'd been making that day. This had resulted in him spending the rest of the morning in the cooler.

After that he'd been held up at lunch, thanks to Darren Hughes locking him in the bathroom stall just because Leo had, supposedly, walked in on something he shouldn't have seen. This had made him late for his test, resulting in Mrs Mulgrew sending him back to the cooler for the afternoon, but not before telling him he would have to stay behind that day to do the test. And then to top it all off, his Father had called into his office to 'discuss his behaviour'.

"He'll be with you in a second." Sonya told him as he walked awkwardly into the office. Leo nodded, smiling a little when the bubbly secretary offered him one of her biscuits. Sonya was one of the only people he liked in Waterloo Road as she seemed to be always happy and just all around nice to everyone, even him. It might have had something to do with the fact that Sonya had tried to make him feel better when his Mum left them with their Father.

Vaughan called Leo into his office 5 minutes later as Mrs Mulgrew was walking out. Leo felt himself grow redder, knowing exactly what the English Teacher would have been saying. "So, Mrs Mulgrew tells me you where late back from lunch. Is there a reason?" Leo just shook his head, knowing his Father wouldn't believe what had happened when no one else had. "And Mrs Lowsley also told me you weren't paying attention in Science and where messing around during an experiment." Leo just looked down at his feet. He hadn't meant to do any of that, he'd just been a little dazed today, that was all. "Leo, sit down."

Leo did so, still not meeting his Father's eyes. "We need to talk about what's going on." His Dad sat across from Leo as he said this. "I know something's been bothering you and I'm not the only one who's seen it."

"Nothing's wrong." Leo said but Vaughan just gave him a disbelieving look. Unbid, Leo started to tug at his shirt sleeves, his hands running over the multiple scars that had been only adding up since the beginning of the week.

"Leo, I can't help you if you won't talk to me. So please. I'm your Father and I only want to help." Leo could have said that his Father wouldn't have left them if he cared but instead he only nodded. Vaughan sighed in frustration, looking at his younger son which only made Leo feel even more uncomfortable. "You'll have to apologise to Mrs Lowsley and finish of Mrs Mulgrew's test tonight." Leo nodded again. "And I don't want a repeat of this behaviour, understand."

"Yes." Leo murmured. "Sorry."

"Okay, you can leave. And you'll spend the rest of the day in the cooler." Leo didn't say anything, just grabbed his bag and left the room. Tears were running down his cheeks but Leo pushed them back. He wouldn't cry. His Dad was right to punish him anyway. Leo shouldn't have let his attention wander, shouldn't have been late for that lesson. And he shouldn't have misbehaved like that because he knew his Dad would be disappointed with that behaviour.

Leo's finger scraped against one of the newer cuts. Running the nail back over the scab, Leo cringed a little at the pain as he re-opened the cut. By the time he got back to the cooler he felt more level-headed and a lot calmer that he had moments before.

**That was a lot longer than originally planned but it sort of got away with me. Anyway, hope you enjoyed and please review :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Justin was worried. He hadn't meant to let Floyd's comment get to him but somehow he had. It probably hadn't helped that Leo had been avoiding him like the plague for the last 3 days now. Justin didn't know what to make of his brother's sudden reclusive behaviour. Sure, Leo had never been a talkative or even outgoing person, preferring to stay inside than go out and play sports but what Leo was doing now was so much worse.

Leo barley ever left his room now, only for meals were Dad and Allie would watch him like a hawk until he eventually ate more than a few mouthfuls. And he never talked. No matter what any of them did no one could engage Leo in a conversation longer than 2 words. But that wasn't what was sending Justin over the edge. No, that was the nervous tic Leo had suddenly formed.

Whenever his younger brother got nervous or even the slightest bit upset, he would start rubbing his hand up and down his wrist as if he was trying to run something across his skin. Justin silently cursed Floyd for putting these ideas in his head. If only he could just get a hold of Leo and check for himself then maybe he could stop worrying.

He just hoped Tiffany and Floyd could keep their mouths shut about their suspicions until then. Because if Dad even suspected Leo of harming himself then his little brother would probably be packed off to the clinic like Mum.

…**..**

Tiffany had been trying to work up the nerve to tell her Mum about Floyd's suspicion about what Leo was doing. She'd been hesitant at first, hoping Justin could fix it or at least tell Vaughan about it. But instead Justin seemed to be doing nothing and Leo's behaviour had only gotten worse. The problem was, Tiffany didn't want to betray Justin's trust.

The night Floyd had mentioned what he saw to Justin, the older of Vaughan's children had come to her and her brother and told them in no uncertain terms that they were not to tell Vaughan or their Mum. Tiffany had agreed, mainly because she fancied Justin and didn't want to get on the wrong side of him, but also because she thought Leo might open up more to Justin. Except 3 days had passed and nothing had happened.

"We should have told them as soon as I found out." Floyd said at lunch as he glanced over to where Leo was sitting alone at a table. Justin had been sent to the cooler again and when Leo had come to lunch, something he hadn't done in a week now, Tiffany had known the younger had been avoiding Justin. They'd invited him to sit with them but Leo had just shrugged and walked off.

"We can't be sure he's doing it though." Tiffany argued. She hadn't known Leo long but in the short time she had she'd grown to care for the younger boy in a sisterly sort of way. Tiffany didn't want to believe Leo could be that stupid.

"Then Vaughan would have solved it and I would have apologised. But it's been festering now and if it's true what then? What if he hurts himself?"

"He already is." Tiffany hissed back, glancing at the students around. She didn't want any of the other students hearing this, knowing how gossip ran in Waterloo Road.

"I mean worse. What if he ends up in hospital because I didn't say anything?" Tiffany fell silent, unsure what to say to that.

"Tonight. If Justin doesn't talk to Leo by tonight then we'll tell Mum and Vaughan." Floyd didn't look happy about leaving it any longer but at least he nodded. Tiffany just hoped Justin got the chance to talk to Leo beforehand.

…

Leo couldn't help but feel nervous as Justin ran to catch up with him. He was about half way home, after leaving later than usual in hopes of dodging Justin. Except somehow his older brother had caught up with him and was now falling in step beside him. Leo fought the urge to start tugging at his sleeves as the two walked in silence.

He was almost positive Justin knew, or at least suspected what he was doing, because for the last few days his brother had been desperately trying to get Leo alone to talk with him. Thankfully, Leo had managed to stay as far away from Justin and on the odd occasion they were alone together, Leo made sure they were in hearing range of their Dad or Allie. Only now, Justin had finally managed to get him alone.

"You okay?" Justin asked as they turned into a side street. Leo shrugged in answer, one of his hands going underneath his jumper to scratch at a cut there. He was so absorbed with trying to keep calm that he didn't notice Justin's eyes watching his every move. "Look, we need to talk."

"Why?" Leo found himself asking.

"Well, Floyd mentioned he saw something the other day and I just want to prove him wrong." Leo felt himself freeze in place. "Leo?" Justin's voice was hesitant.

"I didn't think you listened to Floyd." Leo managed to get out but his tone held an underlying of fear. What if Floyd had seen the cuts? What if he told Dad? Leo didn't think he could handle the disappointment of his Dad finding out about them.

"I don't but…Leo you've been acting weird for a while now and I'm worried." Justin had come to stand in front of Leo. The street was relatively quiet but Leo felt as if every person behind the curtains in the houses lining the street were watching him.

"Not here." Leo finally said, getting a confused look from Justin. "Please."

…

Justin was beyond worried as he followed Leo to the harbour. His younger brother was glancing around nervously as if he were some sort of cornered animal, all the while tugging at the sleeves of his jumper. The longer Justin looked at the younger the more he realised that his fears might be very true.

Finally, Leo stopped, sitting on one of the benches. It wasn't fully dark yet but the street lights had come on. No one was around and that seemed to calm Leo down a little. Justin let his younger brother sit in silence for another minute, hoping Leo would just say it quickly and get it over with. When the younger didn't, Justin had to speak. "Can I see?"

By saying those 3 words, Justin knew he'd just admitted that Leo was hurting himself but on seeing the way his brother was acting; there was no way for Justin to deny it anymore. Leo only nodded, slowly rolling up the sleeves of his jumper.

They were underneath one of the street lamps so everything had turned a strange shade of yellow but there was no mistaking what covered Leo's arms. Angry red lines criss-crossed up both arms in a sick sort of pattern. Some were still crusted with dry blood while others had started to fade into a dull red.

"Leo…" Justin didn't know what to say. His brother wasn't looking at Justin, instead at the floor. "Why?" Justin found himself asking, getting a shrug in answer. Leo's shoulders where shaking now and Justin was almost certain he heard sobbing coming from his little brother.

"Don't tell Dad. Please don't tell Dad." Leo's voice was little more than a whisper but Justin heard it clear enough. "Please." Justin pulled his younger brother into a one armed hug, mindful not to touch any of the cuts. "I don't want anyone to know. Please Justin, don't tell Dad." Leo was making it into sort of a mantra as he broke down into his brother's arms and all Justin could do was sit there and hold his sobbing brother.

When Leo finally calmed down, it was fully dark. "I won't tell Dad. I promise but only if you promise not to hurt yourself anymore." Justin held his breath until Leo nodded into his shoulder. Without saying anything more, the two brothers headed back home. Justin just hoped his brother would be able to keep his promise.

**Hope you enjoyed and please review :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Vaughan couldn't deny he was worried when Floyd and Tiffany sat him and Allie down after they'd eaten. Leo and Justin hadn't come home from school and Vaughan just hoped that Justin was with Leo. "So what's wrong?" Allie asked as Floyd and Tiffany looked at each other.

"Has something happened?" Vaughan asked, picking up on the distress surrounding the two.

"You can tell us you know, we won't be mad." Allie was saying.

"It's about Leo." Tiffany's eyes met Vaughan's then and he felt his heart sink. Whatever they were about to tell him, Vaughan could tell that it was not going to be good news.

"I saw something a few days ago but I could have just been seeing things." Allie put a comforting hand on Floyd's shoulder but it was Vaughan Floyd was looking for reassurance from. Vaughan couldn't say anything though, scared of what Floyd was going to say. "There were marks on his arms." Floyd said.

"What sort of marks?" Allie asked, glancing at Vaughan who was still trying to process what Floyd had just said.

"They looked like cuts."

"You think…" Vaughan started but he couldn't find it in himself to finish the sentence. The idea that Leo, his son, would do something so ridiculously stupid was ludicrous. Sure, Leo had been drawing away from everyone recently but this. This was something altogether more dangerous and very serious.

"You could be wrong." Allie was saying, getting a nod from Floyd. "Why didn't you tell us as soon as you saw?"

"Justin asked us to let him talk to Leo." Vaughan didn't know what to say. He couldn't understand how he could have missed something like this. He was Leo's Father, he should have noticed if his son was self-harming. Except he'd missed it.

"Okay. At least you've told us now. We'll get this sorted." Vaughan said but he had no idea how he was going to sort this.

…**.**

Leo was silent the whole way home. He'd shown Justin what he'd done to himself and now all he was feeling was guilt and shame about worrying Justin so much. He'd never seen his brother like this. Justin was pale and kept glancing at Leo as if he didn't know who his brother was. On the odd occasion Justin opened his mouth as if to say something, no sound came out and Leo was left wondering what his brother thought about him now. Did he pity him? Did he hate him for hurting himself? Either way, Leo was feeling more and more anxious as the silence lengthened and the itch to run the razor across his wrist was back. Except, he'd promised Justin he wouldn't do that again.

Both brothers sighed in relief as they walked up to their front door. Without a word, Justin pushed the door open and Leo followed inside. The front living room light was on but Leo was just going to walk past it and go upstairs when his Dad called for him to come inside.

The tone in Vaughan's voice made Leo stop on the first step upstairs. "Leo, we need to talk. Now." Leo didn't move, trying to find a way out of what he knew was coming next.

Slowly, Leo walked into the room to find his Dad, Allie, Tiffany, Floyd and Justin standing there. Justin was glaring accusingly at Tiffany and Floyd who, along with Allie, were looking at Leo in pity. But it was his Dad's sad and angry look that caught Leo's eye. "Show me your arms." Leo backed away from the anger in Vaughan's voice. "Leo, I need to see what you've been doing to yourself."

"I haven't…" Leo trailed off, knowing that the lie was feeble at best. He awkwardly started to tug at his jumper as if he could make that stop his Dad and anyone else from seeing the cuts.

"How could you be so stupid, Leo? You should have talked to me. Not done this." Vaughan's voice was louder now and Leo found himself flinching backwards.

Before he knew what he was doing, Leo's hand closed around the razor in his pocket. The cold metal cut into the palm of his hand as he felt the blood dripping. "Leo, we just want to help." Allie stood up as she said this but all Leo could hear was the pity in her voice.

"Where's the blade Leo?" Vaughan asked, moving to touch his sons arm. This only made Leo back up more.

"I can't…" Leo didn't even know what he was saying as he started to back out of the room. Before any of them knew what was goin on, Leo had turned and bolted out of the front door.

"Leo!" Vaughan's voice shouted down the street but Leo just ignored him. He couldn't be there. Couldn't be in the same room as them. Not with those pitied looks they kept sending him as if something was wrong. Nothing was wrong. He'd learnt how to cope and so what if it was hurting himself, at least it worked. At least it stopped him from feeling all the emotions he'd been keeping bottled inside ever since his Dad walked out on them for Allie.

…**..**

"It's been 3 hours." Justin yelled at Allie who barely flinched under the anger of him. "Where is he?"

"Your Dad will find him." Allie replied but she didn't know for certain on that. Vaughan had gone looking for Leo the minute the younger had ran out of the house but he hadn't been able to find him. "You just need to calm down and…"

"Calm down, my brother's missing and why the hell should I listen to you. You're not my Mum." Allie didn't know what to say to that. She knew her relationship with Justin had been rocky, never being anything close to kind let alone anything else, but she did want to help. And Leo was a sweet boy and Allie hated to see Vaughan in pain because that's what both boys had been doing since they'd gotten here.

"No, I'm not but if you disappear now you'll only worry your Dad more." Justin looked like he wanted to argue but Allie knew he wouldn't. The older boy may pretend not to care about what his Father felt but he did. And right now that was the only thing stopping Justin from leaving this house.

Without another word, Justin collapsed onto the sofa next to Tiffany and Floyd. Allie couldn't help but feel so proud of her own children for trying to help Vaughan's, when they weren't even their family. Allie just wished they didn't have to deal with all of this. It wasn't fair on them. And Allie hated herself for thinking it but she wished Vaughan's children had never come to stay with them.

…**.**

It was midnight and pouring down with rain by the time Vaughan found Leo sitting on a bench by the park. His son was sitting there, looking at something in his hands while the rain pelted around him. Vaughan stopped the car opposite the bench.

"Leo…" Vaughan started but as soon as his sons' eyes came up to meet his Vaughan felt the words stick in his throat. There were tears in Leo's eyes and Vaughan saw a hint of metal glancing off the object in Leo's hand. "Do you want to get in?"

"I'm sorry." Leo breathed, not answering the question.

"You have nothing to apologise for, Leo, but please get in the car so we can talk." Leo didn't move. "Or I can come out and talk."

"There's nothing to say. It's my problem." Leo finally said, shaking his head.

"I'm here to help you Leo. Let me help you." Vaughan said. The rain was pelting through the open window and he could tell that Leo was soaked and shivering with cold.

Finally Leo nodded, getting to his feet and climbing into the passenger side of the car. "Home?" Leo just shrugged, turning away from Vaughan. As he put the car into drive, Vaughan was acutely aware of the blood soaked into Leo's shirt and the razor blade clenched in his son's hand.

**Hope you enjoyed and please review :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm apologising in advance if there are any spelling mistakes as I wrote this on my tablet with auto correct, which has a mind of its' own sometimes. Anyway, thanks for reading and please enjoy **

Leo didn't know how long he'd been sitting on that bench before his Dad pulled up. He didn't even notice it had started to rain until he got into the car. "You cold?" Leo shrugged though the shiver running through his body must have told his Dad he was as Vaughan put the car heating on fully.

The blade was still clenched in his hand when his Dad pulled the car outside of the house. "Could I have that?" Leo jumped as his Dad's hand closed around his own. Slowly, Leo opened up the hand, a little surprised to see his palm was covered in blood.

"Do I have to talk to them?" Leo asked as his Dad took the blade from his hand. As the blade came away, Leo felt a sudden itch to grab it off his Dad, causing shame to run through him at the thought. Hurting himself was what had caused all these problems and he just wanted to carry on.

"No. I'll call Allie from here and tell them to go upstairs. Okay?" Leo nodded, knowing why his Dad wasn't going to leave him in the car alone. As Vaughan called Allie, Leo's hand went unbid to the deep cuts on his palm. "Don't. Please." His Dad grabbed his hand so as to stop Leo gouging his finger nails into the open cuts.

"Sorry." Leo mumbled. He couldn't look at his Dad as they both got out of the car and headed inside.

No one was downstairs when they got in but Leo could hear movement coming from upstairs. "I'll put the kettle on. How about you get yourself warmed up?" Vaughan said, leaving Leo standing awkwardly in the room.

Someone had brought down some of dry clothes so Leo closed the door dividing the kitchen and the living room so he could change into them. Thankfully, whoever had brought the clothes had thought to bring a jumper down so Leo could cover the cuts on his arms. As he sat back on the sofa he realised how cold he was. "Here you go." H jumped a little as his Dad placed a cup on the coffee table.

Neither said anything for a while but Leo could feel his Dad's eyes on him. "Can I see?" Vaughan final said. Unlike before, his tone was calmer or maybe it was just Leo feeling a little calmer. Nodding, Leo pulled up the jumper sleeves like he had a few hours for Justin. "Leo…" He heard his Dad sigh as the older man looked at his arms.

They were all relatively shallow cuts and probably looked a lot worse than they actually were. The worst were the ones he'd done just before his Dad found him. Leo had ran the blade deeper than he had before and even now they were stinging as if they'd only just been opened. "Did you ever clean them?" Leo shook his head. In all honesty, he'd never thought to.

Vaughan disappeared for a moment and Leo could hear his Dad in the kitchen. He didn't look up from the cuts on his arms until his Dad came back with a cloth and some disinfectant. "This'll sting a little." Leo nodded, not mentioning that he wouldn't mind the pain. Somehow, he didn't think his Dad would like that.

Vaughan had been right, the disinfectant did skin as it touched the open cuts up his arms. All the time, his Dad didn't say a word and Leo wasn't about to say anything either. When his Dad had finished, he put a hand under Leo's chin to lift it so Leo was forced to look his Dad in the eyes. "Why did you do it Leo?" Leo didn't know how to answer that but his Father seemed to realise that as he continued speaking. "We care about you Leo so please just tell me what you were thinking."

"I thought you were all going to leave me." Leo mumbled, making Vaughan frown.

"Why did you think that?"

"You left." Leo said, trying to keep the accusation out of his voice. "And Mum's gone to and Justin's too busy trying to break you and Allie up to notice anymore."

"I'm sorry." Leo shrugged, not knowing what else to say. "Leo. I'm sorry. I didn't realise you'd taken all this so badly."

"Can I go now?" Leo asked. He didn't want to have this conversation even if he knew there was no way of getting out of it. "I'm tired."

"Yeah, okay." Vaughan said as Leo stood up. "We're going to talk about this more in the morning." Leo nodded, heading to the door only to be stopped by his Dad's voice a second time. "Leo, just promise me you'll never do anything like this ever again." Leo nodded, knowing that was what his Father wanted to hear. "I love you son."

Leo didn't reply, just headed for his bedroom in silence. As he closed the door, Leo's fingers itched again for the blade but he fought the urge. He couldn't do it again, not when everyone was watching him so closely.

…**..**

Tiffany sat on the end of Justin's bed in the garage. As soon as her mum had told Justin that Vaughan and Let needed some privacy, she'd thought Justin was going to flip. Except he'd just nodded and left without a word. "You okay?" Tiffany asked, placing a hand on Justin's shoulder.

"No." Tiffany didn't know whether to take the confession as a sign that Justin was starting to trust her more or if it just showed Justin really wasn't alright. "Leo's my brother, I should have noticed. I should have been there for him."

"There wasn't anything you could do to help Leo, not when he wasn't talking to anyone. You shouldn't blame yourself." Tiffany couldn't help but feel angry at Leo for making Justin feel this way but she pushed it aside. She knew Justin wouldn't want to hear it.

"But he's my younger brother and I should have noticed. With dad and mum gone I should have been there for him. I shouldn't have let this happen."

"You were trying to cope with what happened yourself, you shouldn't have to worry about Leo. Anyway, Vaughan will get him help now he knows." At this, Justin jumped up, pushing Tiffany's hand away.

"I won't let dad put Leo in a clinic like mum. And what the he'll do you know about any of this. Your families not in tatters. You've still got your mum here and now you've got my dad to. What do me and Leo have. No one. Our mums in a clinic because of our dad and you stole our dad from us. This is your fault. Yours and your family." Tiffany flinched away from Justin's anger. "Get out."

"Justin, I just want to help." Tiffany tried to say but Justin wasn't hearing any of it.

"Get out." The look that Justin sent to Tiffany was one of pure hatred and Tiffany found herself running from the room, tears running down her cheeks.

**...**

Allie sat next to Vaughan after Leo had disappeared. She didn't saynanything as she took the blade from Vaughan's hand. He couldn't understand how Leo had gotten ahold of the blade, let alone begin to understand why his son thought it was a good idea to use it. "It's not your fault."

"Yes it is. Leo is my son and I should have realised he wasn't taking me and his mum's split well. How could I have let this happen?" Vaughan felt dead inside. The very thought that he had caused Leo, his own son, to self harm tore at him inside.

"We'll get Leo help but blaming yourself won't help anyone." Vaughan turned to face Allie and couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you." He said. "There not even your kids and you're willing to help them."

Allie didn't say anything to this but Vaughan didn't need her to. Somehow he'd gotten lucky with Allie because not many women would want to help kids that weren't theirs. But Allie did and Vaughan loved her all the more for it.

**Thank you for reading and please review :-) **


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks for everyone reading, reviewing, following and who favourited this story. It makes me happy :)**

Floyd was a little surprised to find Justin sitting in Leo's usual seat at the breakfast table. "Toast Floyd?" Vaughan asked.

"Thanks." Floyd nodded. Breakfast that morning was relatively silent and Floyd noticed the way Vaughan and Justin were looking at the door, waiting for Leo to come down. His Mum in turn was looking at Vaughan with worry etched on her face and Tiffany doing the same with Justin.

"Is Leo going to be alright?" Tiffany finally said, seemingly unable to stand the silence.

"That's not really any of your business." Justin glared at her then. Floyd frowned, unsure about what had happened between those two as they'd been getting closer recently.

"Justin, they live under the same roof as us so they need to know what's going on with Leo."

"It's not their business." Justin argued back at his Dad.

"Justin. I understand that you're just trying to protect your brother but arguing with me on this won't help anyone." Vaughan argued and even though Justin glared straight at his Dad, he stayed silent. "Well, Leo isn't in the best place right now but I'm sure he'll appreciate your concern."

"And don't you dare tell anyone at school about this." Justin added, sending a glare straight at Floyd who glared right back. He wanted to say something then but he didn't think it would go down well.

It didn't matter if he and Justin didn't get on; he didn't think that them arguing would help anyone, especially Vaughan and Floyd's Mum. He'd seen the way Leo's behaviour had been affecting Vaughan and his Mum but as soon as Floyd had told them about Leo's self-harming Vaughan especially had gotten worse. Floyd could tell that Vaughan was stressed about Leo and his Mum was just as stressed as she didn't know how to act. Tiffany was the same about Justin and Floyd was starting to worry that Leo's problems might start affecting his family's behaviour more and more.

"Shouldn't someone go and see if Leo wants a lift?" Floyd asked as they headed for the door.

"I'll…" Vaughan started but Allie interrupted.

"I'll go. I think you need a break from dealing with this. At least for a little while." Vaughan looked a little confused but finally he nodded and headed upstairs. Floyd watched her go and couldn't help the small niggle inside that Leo's behaviour might be the thing that destroyed both families, not Justin's anger.

…**.**

Leo sat at the edge of his bed after getting ready for school. He'd managed to avoid the others in the house getting ready, even skipped breakfast so as to avoid their stares. Except now he had to leave his bedroom to go to school, where he'd see all of them. Now they knew, Leo felt more and more worried about how they might act around him.

"You don't have to come in to school today, you know." Allie's voice at the door made Leo jump a little. "Sorry. I know your Dad won't mind if you don't want to go in today."

"I'm fine." Leo replied, moving away from Allie as he left the bedroom.

"Do you want a lift?" Leo shook his head. He didn't think he could handle sitting in the same car as the others. "Okay, breakfast is on the table."

"Thanks." Leo mumbled, going down the stairs. Justin was sat at the table when Leo came down. "Where's Dad?"

"Waiting in the car." Justin replied, handing Leo a piece of toast. "Eat that and we'll head out." Allie appeared at the doorway, gaining a glare from Justin.

"Are you sure you don't want a lift?"

"No, I'm fine." Allie nodded and left the two brothers sitting there. "Why didn't Dad…" Leo trailed off, a little awkward asking why Allie had been the one to get him out of his room this morning and not their Dad.

"Allie offered and Dad let her." Justin replied with a shrug. "We better get going." Leo just nodded, following his brother from the house and down the street. He could already tell this was going to be a long day.

…

The day was a blur to Leo. He was constantly wondering if everyone had said anything about his self-harming and he was paranoid that they were all watching him. Except that was nonsense because why would someone spread his self-harming around the school.

"Leo, Mr Fitzgerald wants a word with you." Mr Mulgrew said as Leo made to walk out of his English lesson to lunch. Leo nodded, turning around to head to his Dad when Mrs Mulgrew started talking again. "Are you alright, Leo? You've been acting strange these last few days."

"I'm fine, Miss." Leo replied, pushing past the teacher. It was bad enough that he was being questioned at home now it had come into school as well.

…

It had been Allie's suggestion, calling the therapists. He'd been a little dubious about it but he'd eventually given in. Allie was only trying to help and she was right in what she had said. Leo needed professional help, something he couldn't give him. "Leo's here to see you." Sonya poked her head through the door as Leo walked into the office.

"That's all, Sonya." He said, closing the door on her. As much as she liked her, he couldn't help but notice she was incredibly nosy about what he was doing. "So, Leo, how was school today?"

"Alright." Leo replied. Vaughan had found a therapist he thought might be helpful and he wanted to talk it over with Leo.

"I know you've been having a hard time with everything but what you've been doing…you understand its' wrong don't you?" Vaughan said, getting a small nod from Leo. "Good and you understand that you need some help."

"I'm not going to a clinic." Leo interrupted, worry etched in his eyes.

"No, Leo I wouldn't." Vaughan said, putting a hand on his sons shoulder. "What I mean is you need to talk to someone."

"Like you or Justin?" Leo asked, not mentioning his Mum Vaughan noted. But Leo probably didn't want to worry her.

"I mean someone professional. Like a therapist. I've been looking into it and I think I've found someone who might be able to help…" Vaughan found himself trailing off as Leo's face slowly fell. His son's fingers had gone, absently, to his wrists as he bowed his head. "Leo, its' not a punishment. I just think you need some help."

"Why can't I get help from you? Why does it have to be a stranger?"

"I can let you chose the therapist but you need to talk to someone." Vaughan said but Leo just shook his head. He'd thought he'd been making progress with Leo but instead he'd just pushed his son further away. Vaughan knew that was what had happened the minute he stopped talking.

…**..**

Leo looked straight at his Dad, anger flaring. His Dad was as good as saying he was mad. That he needed professional help. Leo didn't need help, didn't want it and wasn't going to accept it. His fingernail was running over the cuts in his wrist and he felt one split open, blood welling up. "Leo, please just stop that." Vaughan grabbed a hold of Leo's hand but let go of it as soon as he saw the blood on Leo's fingernail. "You need help Leo."

"No, I don't need help." Leo didn't mean to yell but he had as he jumped to his feet. "I'm fine. I just want everything to go back to normal."

"It's not going back to normal Leo, and you do need help. You've been hurting yourself, withdrawing away from everyone. Just like you Mum." Leo froze, not believing his Dad had just said this. Vaughan must have realised he'd done wrong as he quickly reached for Leo's arm. "Leo, I'm sorry."

Leo pushed Vaughan's arm away from him, pushing through the door and moving away from the office. He didn't know where he was heading but all he knew was that he needed to get as far away from his Dad as possible.

**This turned out longer than I thought so I've had to put the second part of his chapter into another chapter so as to shorten it a little. As always, hope you enjoy and please review :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**This is the second half of the previous chapter **

Leo ended up nearly running into Floyd and Tiffany in his haste to get away from his Dad. "Hey, Mum just told me about the therapist thing." Tiffany said, stopping Leo in his tracks.

"Yeah, I'm sure it'll help." Floyd said and Leo could see their pitying eyes. His vision was blurring and Leo slowly realised that was the tears building in his eyes. He pushed them away, refusing to give Floyd and Tiffany the satisfaction of seeing him cry. Justin appeared by Leo's side, frowning in worry.

"What's going on?" Justin asked, turning on Floyd as soon he said that his younger brother was close to tears. Leo just wanted to get out of here. He didn't want to be here. He didn't need their help. He just needed to…Leo's hand was under his jumper, gouging at the cut he'd re-opened in his Dad's office. Tiffany noticed as her hand came to pull Leo's own hand into hers.

Leo flinched violently away from her. "I'm fine." He instantly said but he could see the red on his fingers, could see the accusing looks from Tiffany and Floy, the pitying looks from his brother…and the curious looks from the crowd they'd made.

"What therapist?" Justin asked, angrily turning on Floyd.

"To help Leo." Floyd started, backing away from the angry tone in Justin's voice. "Hey, it wasn't my idea."

"Leo doesn't need some strangers help." Justin pushed Floyd angrily and Leo just wanted to get away from this. He didn't want to see his brother fighting again. Didn't want to be standing here as, what he felt-like anyway, the whole schools eyes were on him.

"Hey, it's not my fault your brothers so messed up that he has to self-harm." Floyd shouted.

…**.**

Justin saw red. Before he knew what had happened, he'd jumped on Floyd, punching the other boy over and over again. His brother was not messed up. Distantly, he could hear Tiffany and Leo screaming at him to stop but he kept going. All he could keep thinking about was those marks on Leo's arms. He knew that wasn't Floyd's fault but the other boy had told his Dad about Leo's self-harming when Justin had promised Leo that their Dad wouldn't find out. And he was just so dammed angry at everyone.

At himself for allowing Leo to do this. At Floyd and Tiffany because they caused this by telling everyone. At Allie for taking his Dad away from them. At his Dad for leaving and now threatening to take Leo away from him. And above all else, he was angry at Leo for hurting himself. For becoming just like Mum.

A pair of hands grabbed Justin's shoulder, hauling him off Floyd. There was blood on his knuckles and Floyd would have a couple of bruises in the morning. "That is enough." Mr Lowsley shouted as he helped Floyd to his feet. Mr Reid had a hand on Justin's shoulder and he felt himself shag a little, all the anger draining out of him. "Right, everyone get back to classes now. You four, with me."

Mr Lowsley led Justin, Floyd, Tiffany and Leo into the pastoral care office. Floyd had an ice-pack on his face while Tiffany was fawning over her brother, looking at Justin with hate in her eyes. Justin was just looking at his hands, not quite believing what he'd done and Leo was sitting as far away from all three of them as he could.

"What the hell were you thinking?" His Dad shouted as he and Allie walked into the room. Allie went straight to Floyd, who shrugged her and Tiffany's hands off of him. "Justin, I told you that this anger is not acceptable and beating-up Floyd is certainly not." Justin didn't say anything. He knew his Dad was right.

"Vaughan, it wasn't Justin's fault. I provoked him." Floyd interrupted, getting an unbelieving look from Justin. Even Vaughan and Allie looked confused at this statement.

"Floyd, that may be the case but Justin shouldn't have done what he did." Allie started but Floyd just ignored her, turning to look straight at Justin.

"I'm sorry about what I said and I'm not angry at you."

"I'm sorry for punching you then." Justin replied, eyes turning straight to Leo. His younger brother was just looking down at his hands, not saying anything.

"Are you sure you're alright Floyd?" Tiffany asked, getting a nod from her brother.

"Right. We can't let this go unpunished so Justin, you'll be staying in the cooler for the rest of the day but if you promise you won't do this again…"

"I won't." Justin promised his Dad and he was a little surprised to find he actually meant it.

"Okay, is there anything else we need to know?" Allie asked, looking at Justin and Floyd uncertainly. Justin couldn't blame her for that. He had just beaten up her son and Floyd had forgiven him for it.

"Yes, there is one thing." Floyd said, shame coming onto his face.

"It wasn't Floyd's fault; he didn't mean to tell everyone."

"Tell everyone what." Vaughan asked Tiffany but from the look that crossed his face, it was obvious he already knew.

"That Leo's been self-harming." Silence fell across the room then as all eyes turned to look at Leo.

"I'm really sorry Leo." Floyd started.

"It's fine." Leo interrupted but Justin could tell that was a lie, and so could everyone else.

"We do just want to help Leo." Tiffany tried to say but Justin knew her words would only be ignored. Leo didn't want the help, the way his younger brother had been acting for the last few days had proven that.

"I know." Leo replied.

"How about we leave you three to it?" Allie said, getting a grateful nod from Vaughan as she, Floyd and Tiffany exited the room.

"You're not going to run out on me again." Vaughan asked, getting a shake of the head from Leo. "Good."

"I'm sorry about what happened. Everything. None of this would have happened if I hadn't…" The last part didn't need to be said but Justin still felt the need to reassure his brother.

"I shouldn't have let my anger get the better of me, you can't take all the blame Leo. And me and Dad should have noticed. Or Mum because you've been acting different ever since Dad left." Justin moved to sit next to his brother, who still wasn't looking at anyone. At least he'd stopped running his fingernails over the old cuts.

At the mention of their Mum, Leo's head snapped up though. "We don't have to tell mum do we?" Vaughan didn't' say anything. "I don't want to worry her, she doesn't need to deal with this while she's getting better. None of you do." Leo added.

"We won't tell your Mum, on the condition you give this therapist a chance." Vaughan said.

"I don't want to talk to a stranger." Leo replied, moving his head to meet his Dad's eyes. Justin could see Leo was pleading with his Dad but Justin couldn't help but agree with their Dad.

"You need to talk to someone." Vaughan started. "And I don't think you want to talk to me or Justin about all of this, do you?" Leo shook his head, making a flash of hurt run through Justin. But he couldn't blame his brother, he wouldn't want to talk about what was worrying him to his Dad or Leo either.

"I just don't…" Leo started, slowly trailing off again. "I know I need help but I don't feel comfortable talking to a complete stranger about what's wrong with me."

"How about one of the teachers?" Justin and Leo both looked at their Dad in confusion. "If I talk to them and one of them agrees, would you talk to them?" Slowly, Leo nodded in agreement. "Okay. I can't let you go home but if you want to stay out of classes, you can stay in my office."

"Okay, thanks. And I really am sorry." Leo said, getting to his feet. Vaughan nodded and Justin couldn't help but smile a little. By the sounds of it, his brother was starting to sound better than he had. Maybe Leo would get better after all.

**Please Review and thanks for reading :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Once more apology for any spelling/grammatical errors but writing on tablet and to lazy to read back through it. Hope you enjoy though :-D **

As soon as they left Vaughan and his sons, Allie pulled Tiffany and Floyd into an empty classroom. Floyd's face was coming out in bruises now and there was dried blood on his nose while Tiffany just kept glancing out of the room, worry etched on her face. "Are you alright?"

"We're fine." Floyd assured her but Allie didn't believe him. Neither of them should have to deal with this.

"I'll talk to Vaughan, see if he and the boys can move out." Both Tiffany and Floyd went to protest but Allie stopped them. "Neither of you should have to deal with this and it isn't fair to make you either."

"What about you and Vaughan?" Tiffany asked and Allie fell silent. She loved Vaughan, she really did, but his sons were making it near impossible for them to be together.

"We're not moving out." Floyd said.

"Floyd, I know you want to help but maybe Leo is better off getting better with just his Dad and brother." Allie said. From what she'd seen, Allie had noticed how Leo especially had been craving Vaughan's attention but because of Allie and her children being there probably felt ignored. And that was causing Allie to think she was part of the reason Leo had started self-harming, even though she knew Vaughan would say it wasn't true.

"You're finally happy mum and we don't think us leaving would solve anything." Tiffany started.

"if you're going to stay with Vaughan then that means we can't just avoid Leo and Justin when something happens. He's their dad, not ours, and their going to come to him with problems when where still there." Floyd continued.

"So we can't just avoid them whenever they have a problem." Tiffany finished.

"If your sure?" Allie asked, a little doubtfully.

"We are. We just want to help them." Floyd answered and Allie couldn't help the burst of pride towards her children. They were right after all. If she and Vaughan stayed together then Leo and Justin would be apart of that deal to, just like Floyd and Tiffany were. No matter what either family did, nothing could change that.

**...**

By the end of the school day, half of the school had heard what had happened. Vaughan had left Leo in his office with Sony keeping an eye on him but that hadn't stopped the rumours from spreading. Sometimes he forgot how much teenagers liked to gossip. Going by this, Vaughan wasn't surprised to find the staff knew as well, considering the staff could be worse gossips than the pupils.

Getting the teachers to stay behind had been easy, though Vaughan couldn't help but wonder if it was because the teachers wanted to help or were just nosy. He could guess that answer by looking at some of the faces.

"By now I'm sure you heard what happened at lunch." Vaughan started, getting nods from the staff.

"I didn't think Justin was going to get off Floyd." Hector said, sending a smile at Sue who just rolled her eyes. Two of less sympathetic members of staff, Vaughan thought as he watched the exchange.

"How is Floyd?" Audrey asked, aiming this at Allie.

"Fine now."

"I hope you've punished Justin properly. We can't have that sort of behaviour falling into classes." Sue added.

"It's being handled but I assure you it won't be happening again." Of that Vaughan was sure. "However, that wasn't why I wanted to talk to you." And here came the point were Vaughan didn't know what to say.

"we've heard what Leo's been doing and whatever we can do to help." Maggie said, seeing the way Vaughan was struggling to get the words out. Vaughan breathed a sigh of relief. Saying what Leo was doing to family was one thing, to staff was a completely other thing.

"Will you be getting a therapist in because any lessons he needs to miss is fine." Audrey said.

"Leo doesn't want to talk with a therapist however, he has agreed to talk with a member of staff if there's anyone who would like to help." Vaughan stated.

"I'd be happy to talk if that's what Leo wants." Simon said and Vaughan nodded his thanks. He would have been surprised if his deputy hadn't asked.

"I'd talk with Leo." Christine also added.

"Thank you. I'll talk to Leo and see what he says." Vaughan replied. As the staff let the staffroom, Vaughan sighed in relief. That had gone a lot better than he'd originally though it would.

**...**

Floyd knocked on the office door so as to alert Leo to omeone being there. When there was no answer, he just pushed it open and walked inside. Leo was sitting on one of th chairs, doing homework. He looked paler than usual and Floyd could see the way Leo's hand kept going down to the cuts on his wrists only to jerk back again before he touched them.

"Hey." Leo said quietly as Floyd sat opposite him. Leo was the youngest of all of them except Floyd had never really thought about that until now. He was only 15 but he hadn't really seemed his age until now. He was sitting on the chair, bent over with his hair covering his face so he didn't have to look at anyone.

"You okay?" Leo didn't answer but Floyd guessed it was better than him lying.

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, both wondering what to say. Floyd didn't blame Leo though, he was the guy Leo probably though had replaced him and his brother. "I'm sorry for what Justin did and for causing all this mess."

"It's not your fault. I shouldn't have said anything to the whole school. I kind of deserved this." here Floyd pointed this face, getting a small smile from Leo. Well at least that was progress. "We didn't get off on the best start though so maybe we should try again." Floyd continued, wondering if he was pushing Leo to far. Maybe Leo didn't want to get to know him or his family. Except Leo turned his head to meet floods, a small hesitant smile appearing on his lips.

"Yeah, I'd like that."

**...**

Tiffany didn't say anything as she followed Justin to the harbour walls after school. She'd been surprised that the older boy had asked if he could talk with her but at the same time she'd been happy that Justin had asked. They hadn't said anything, walking out of the school. Floyd had offered to sit with Leo while her mum and Vaughan talked to the staff so she'd been able to spend sometime alone with Justin without Justin worrying his brother was alone.

"I'm sorry." Tiffany went to say something but Justin held up a hand and carried on speaking. "The other night I know you were just trying to help and I kicked you out out and I'm sorry for that. And for making your mum's life hard and for beating up your brother. Twice."

"It's not your fault." Tiffany said, wondering where Justin was going with this.

"Yes it is. Getting angry is how I've been dealing with all of this and now Leo's getting help, maybe I need some to."

"What you want to talk to a therapist?" Tiffany teased, getting the first real laugh she'd ever heard from Justin.

"No, I want to talk to you." Tiffany felt a flutters in her chest. She couldn't deny she'd even attracted to Justin since first meeting the older Fitzgerald but right now she thought she might actually love him.

"Then talk to me." Tiffany said but instead of talking, Justin just leaned in and kissed her.

**I don't know Leo's actual age (or anyone else's) so it's a bit of guess work here but seeing as Leo is never in the same classes as Justin, Floyd or Tiffany I guessed he was younger. Also, I just like the thought of it so sorry if it's wrong. Also, seeing as how I've been asked a few times now to out more Tiffany/Justin into this I thought I'd have a go so once more sorry if it didn't work out well but I'm not that good with writing romance stuff. **

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed and please review :-) **


	10. Chapter 10

**Updates will be a little slower as I'm back at work now but I'll try to update at least once a week, maybe twice or more if I can on my days off :)**

Leo didn't know what to think as he stood awkwardly waiting outside Mrs Mulgrew's classroom. His Dad had given him the choice of talking to Mrs Mulgrew or Mr Lowsley and Leo remembered the first day he'd come to Waterloo Road and Mrs Mulgrew had said she'd be there to talk if he wanted. That was yesterday, when things had gotten out of control.Now, Leo was having second thoughts.

He knew Justin and Floyd's fight yesterday had been his fault, even if he hadn't thrown any punches, and he knew they must all blame him. That had caused a bit of awkwardness when Leo had come down for dinner the night before. He'd barley eaten a thing, which only made him feel even more guilty about worrying his Dad and Allie, even if Allie wasn't his Mum Leo still liked her and her children.

"You can go inside if you want Leo." Mrs Mulgrew said, coming from behind him with his Dad.

"Okay." Leo said, glancing at Vaughan before going into the classroom. Mrs Mulgrew and his Dad talked a little outside before she entered the classroom behind Leo.

"So, how was school today?" Leo shrugged. It hadn't been brilliant. The whole school had found out about his self-harming so he'd been treated to pitying stares and murmurs every time he walked past someone. He knew the school wouldn't care half so much if he wasn't the heads son though and that probably made it a lot worse. "You know I can't help if you don't talk to me."

Leo swallowed, knowing he had to at least give this a go if only for his Dad and Justin's sakes. "It was hard."

"I can imagine. No one likes being talked about."

"But it's' something that I'll have to get used to." Leo bit out, a little more angrily than he wanted. His finger nails were tracing over the old scars but Mrs Mulgrew didn't say anything about it.

"For a little while, yes. But come next week there'll be something new for them to talk about." Mrs Mulgrew replied, sending Leo a reassuring smile which Leo hesitantly returned. "I'm glad you agreed to talk to someone about what's happening. I think it's really brave."

"Not really." Leo mumbled, head lowering again. Mrs Mulgrew remained silent, waiting for Leo to elaborate. "I mean, if I wasn't so messed up then I wouldn't need to talk to someone would I? It's not brave, it's just…" Leo paused, unsure what to say. His mind was going back, unbid to Floyd's words before Justin hit him. Even if he and Floyd had talked yesterday, Leo still felt the sting of those words because Floyd was right. He was messed up. Just like Mum.

"I think it is. It took me a long time to talk about my drinking."

"It isn't the same." Leo argued.

"Yes it is. We all have our own methods of coping and drinking was mine. Just like self-harming is yours." Leo didn't know what else to say then. "Maybe you can tell me why you thought it was a good idea though?" Leo didn't answer, again not sure how to answer and a little uncomfortable about talking about that. "Okay. Then how about your Mum and Dad? How did it make you feel when they split up?"

"Bad I guess. Justin took it worse than me." It was true. Justin had started getting more angry and distant ever since Dad left and would refuse to go and see Dad back when Vaughan still lived close by.

"We're not talking about Justin." Mrs Mulgrew replied.

"I missed him but I could still see him. He just didn't live with us." Leo replied. IN all honesty, things hadn't really hit home until his Dad had moved to Scotland with Allie and her children.

"But it was a big change. It must have hurt a lot." Mrs Mulgrew said, obviously not happy with the answer he'd given.

"It would've been better if Mum and Justin handled it better." Leo said, feeling guilty the minute he'd said it. It wasn't his fault that his mum and brother hadn't taken his Dad's leaving well but he still felt like he'd betrayed them by telling Mrs Mulgrew that.

"They didn't handle it well." Mrs Mulgrew asked.

"Can we stop?" Leo asked, suddenly feeling even more uncomfortable than before. Talking about himself was one thing but talking about his family was something else entirely.

"Okay. We'll continue this tomorrow." Mrs Mulgrew finally said after a moment's silence. Leo sighed in relief, glad she'd listened to him.

As Mrs Mulgrew opened the door to let him out, Leo turned around and quickly said: "Thanks Mrs Mulgrew."

"It's no problem Leo." She said and Leo smiled shyly back at her before heading out of the classroom. He felt a little better having talked with Mrs Mulgrew but there was still the nagging feeling at the back of his head that he'd said too much. As if he'd betrayed Justin and his Mum about telling Mrs Mulgrew about the terrible way they'd handled Dad's leaving.

…

Christine was silent as she watched Leo walk away. She hadn't expected Leo to open up so quickly and had been pleasantly surprised. In lessons, the younger Fitzgerald didn't say much but from this small conversation she'd found he was a sweet kid. The only thing worrying her was Leo's reluctance to talk about his brother and Mum. Of course this was the first time they'd gotten to talk but Mrs Mulgrew just hoped Leo would open up about that soon. She had a feeling that maybe his families' reactions to the split had caused Leo's self-harming, and not actually the split. Either way, she knew she would have to tell Vaughan about this.

…

"How did it go?" Vaughan asked Christine as she walked into his office.

"He opened up a little." Christine replied, sitting opposite Vaughan.

"Good." Vaughan couldn't help but feel a little jealous that Leo had opened up to Christine, and not him, but at the same time he was just glad his son was finally talking about what was wrong. "Did he say anything that might explain why he…" Once more Vaughan trailed off, unable to say the words.

"He mentioned Justin and his Mum didn't take you leaving well." It was obvious Christine was uncomfortable saying this but Vaughan just motioned her to continue. He'd already told her what had happened, so she wasn't surprised when Leo talked about it. Thankfully, Vaughan knew Christine wouldn't be discussing his failed marriage in the staff room.

"I don't think any of them did." Vaughan replied, guilt welling up. He didn't realise his actions had caused so much. "Thank you for doing this Christine." Vaughan said, standing up. Leo was standing by the office door, waiting for the lift home. "I'll see you tomorrow." Christine nodded, said her goodbyes and left the room.

…**..**

The ride home was silent. Allie, Floyd, Tiffany and Justin had already left so it was just Vaughan in the car. His Dad didn't say anything about the therapy but Leo kind of hoped he would. It was like a heavy weight surrounding them. When they pulled up outside the house, Vaughan turned to face Leo.

"The clinic called to say your Mum's ready for some visitors." Vaughan started and Leo felt his attention prick up. "So I thought we could g and visit her this weekend."

"Yes, that would be great." Leo answered. He missed his Mum and couldn't wait to see her and from the way his Dad smiled, Leo guessed that Vaughan was happy by Leo's reaction to the news. As they headed indoors, though, Leo felt a nagging in the back of his head. The thought of seeing his Mum in the clinic was frightening, if she wasn't getting any better. Or worse, if she somehow guessed what Leo had done.

**Next chapter: Olga. Also, hope you enjoyed the little bit of Christine, hope it was alright as I wasn't sure how to write her but felt I needed a little of what she thought in here**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed and please review :)**


	11. Chapter 11

The weekend came around relatively quickly for Leo. He'd only talked with Mrs Mulgrew the once, choosing instead to avoid her whenever she came to look for him. Leo knew his Dad and Justin weren't happy about that but Leo just couldn't face talking to her again. Not after practically gelling her the reason he self-harmed was because of his Mum and Justin's reaction to their dad's leaving. That was one thing he couldn't talk about even if it played on the edges of his mind as they drove to the clinic.

Leo just kept thinking that if they'd handled everything better then maybe he wouldn't have done this. He knew he was worried about his mum being in that clinic and that Justin's anger had made him a little more cautious around his brother than he usually would be. Maybe that was why he'd done it. But Leo was didn't see the point in telling anyone else that. If he knew then he could help himself qso in theory he didn't need anyone elses help.

"You okay back there?" Vaughan turned around to face his youngest son.

"I'm fine dad, atop worrying." Leo replied, forcing a smile. He was nervous to see his mum, worried she'd guess what he'd done.

"alright then." Vaughan replied, obviously not happy. Honestly, Leo didn't know what else they wanted him to do. He'd started eating properly again, even when he wasn't hungry he forced down at least half of what Allie gave him. And he'd made an effort to talk, even if he preferred to be quiet. Anyway, he'd stopped self-harming more or less now. True, when was stressed he'd sometimes find himself picking at an old scar until it bled again but he didn't use the razor. Though that might have had something to do with all the razors being hidden from him than actually not wanting to do it.

The last week had been tough in its own way though. At home, Vaughan and Justin would treat him as if he was going to break while Allie constantly tried to get him to talk. Tiffany and Floyd wouldn't even look him in the eye sometimes. It was like he was being treated as a child.

School wasn't much better. The teachers hovered a little too much and the gossip had only dyed down a little. Hopefully by the time the next t week came around, it would be gone completely. But Leo knew that wasn't going to happen. His self-harming would live with him forever now. And not just the scars.

**...**

Olga was hugging her two sons when Vaughan finally walked in. He'd been talking to the doctor about how she was doing but he knew it was partly a way of him holding back having to see her again. She looked healthier though. Better than she had at least. And he could tell already that both Leo and Justin were also happier seeing Olga. That in itself managed to quench Vaughan's own discomfort about seeing his ex wife.

"Olga."

"Vaughan." He took a seat opposite her and their sons, listening to their talk. As they talked, however, value Vaughan found his thoughts wandering to other things. Mostly an inner debate in whether he should tell Olga about what Leo had done. After all she was Leo's mother and had a right, more time Han Allie did, to know. But he'd promised Leo he wouldn't say anything and he couldn't break his youngest sons trust when he was just getting better.

"I think your father's zoned put on us. Our conversation must be too Boeing for him." Olga said, pulling Vaughan from his thoughts.

"No just thinking."

"About how good it is to have our family together again." Justin replied an Vaughan felt a tinge of guilt. He should have stayed in the car instead of coming in. Who knows what they might think of that. Justin especially hadn't yet come to grips with the fact that Vaughan and Olga where never getting back together.

"How at ut you tell your mum how schools going?" Vaughan said, quickly changing the subject.

Olga and the boys Talked a while longer, Vaughan occasionally adding something in before it was time to leave. "We'll come back next week won't we dad?" Leo's voice was so full of pleading that Vaughan couldn't help but agree. He knew it was a commitment he shouldn't make but Leo already looked so much better having seen his mum again that Vaughan couldn't refuse.

"So I'll see you again next week." Olga said, leaning in towards him. The boys had already headed to the car so it was just the two of them.

"It seems like it." Vaughan replied, slowly backing away from Olga. He did g want to hurt her feelings by saying something but he knew she still loved him.

Before he could say anymore however, Olga leaned in and kissed him. Vaughan was in a state of shock so it took him a little while to fully process what Olga was doing but when he did he gently pulled her off him. "We can't." Vaughan told her.

"Dad?" Leo's voice appeared before Olga said anything.

"We have to go." Vaughan told Olga, guilt welling up as he walked past her and towards Leo. His youngest son looked utterly confused as to what had happened but Vaughan said nothing as he walked down the stairs back to the car.

"Why did you kiss mum?" if this was Justin, Vaughan knew he'd be asking how Allie might feel about this but this was Leo, who knew his parents weren't getting back together.

"She kissed me." Vaughan told him, motioning for Leo to come down the stairs. "Me and your mum aren't getting back together you understand that."

"But you kissed her." Leo said, confusion laced in his voice. Slowly, Vaughan pulled his sons hands away fro. Where they gone under his shirt sleeves.

"she kissed me. You can't tell anyone about that, Leo and I'm sorry you saw that but me and your mum are not getting back together." Vaughan told him as Leo slowly nodded. "Come on, we should get back into the car." Leo only nodded, slowly following Vaughan outside.

As they walked, all Vaughan could think about was how badly he'd messed up. Because he knew that while the kiss wasn't his fault he shouldn't have let it happen, it wasn't like he hadn't expected it. And he certainly shouldn't have let Leo see it happen.

**Shorter than usual but didn't want to add anymore into it. Also, I know it's Justin who sees the kiss in the show but I wanted it to be Leo for purposes you will find out in the next few chapters. **

**Anyway, thanks for Reading and please review:-D **


	12. Chapter 12

"What's wrong?" Leo started a little when Justin asked this. It had been 2 days since they'd gone to see mum and Leo was still trying to understand why his dad had kissed mum, even if Vaughan said it was nothing Leo just couldn't believe that.

"Nothing." Justin gave his brother a disbelieving look as he sat down at the table. The cafeteria was buzzing around the two brothers but Justin just ignored them as he met his younger brothers gaze.

"That's what you said last time." Leo flinched away from the words, guilt welling up.

"This isn't the same. I'm not..." here Leo trailed off, his eyes going to the table.

"Hey, I didn't mean..."

"You didn't." Leo interrupted as Justin put a comforting hand on his own. "I'm fine really."

"No your not. You can tell me anything you want Leo. Just please. Talk to me." Leo was quiet but finally he came to a decision. Justin needed to know what he'd seen, whatever his brother might do with knowing that.

"Back at the clinic, I saw dad and mum kissing." Justin was silent for so long that Leo started to get a little worried. "Dad said it was nothing, that mum kissed him and that their not getting back together."

"Then why did he let her kiss her. I knew dad still had feelings for mum." Justin said, getting to his feet.

"Justin." Leo said but his brother was already heading out of the cafeteria. As he watched Justin go, Leo had a sinking feeling that his brother was going to do something stupid.

...

Justin's head was spinning as he walked down the corridor. The end of lunch bell had already rung but Justin was content to ignore it. What Leo had said about their mum and dad, maybe there was hope. All Justin could think about was getting his parents back together. Maybe then Leo would be alright and they could be a family again. He knew it was probably a childish hope but Justin just wanted his family back together again. He wanted his mum and Leo to be alright and maybe them all living together again would do that.

"Justin, what's wrong?" Vaughan asked as Justin came into his office. Mr Lowsley was sitting in the office but on Justin's entrance he quickly made his excuses and left. "Is it Leo?" Vaughan asked, worry evident in his voice.

"Leo told me. About you and mum." Justin stated.

"The kiss. Justin that didn't mean anything." Vaughan replied, exasperation in his tone.

"Yes it did, why else would you have kissed her." Justin shouted.

"Justin, I told Leo the same thing back in the clinic. Me and your mum aren't getting back together." Vaughan went to pull his son into a hug but Justin pulled away, anger plain on his face.

"Why not? What's so special about Allie? It's her fault mum's in that clinic. Her fault that your son self-harmed. All of this is her fault. None of this would have happened if she hadn't taken you away from us." Justin knew he was shouting now but he couldn't seem to control the anger towards his dad.

"Justin, I love Allie and me and your mum. It just wasn't working. And I'm sorry that I caused so much hurt but this isn't allies fault. And you can't blame her for it."

"she doesn't know does she?" Justin asked and it was so much of a shift in topic Vaughan looked momentarily taken aback.

Finally he said: "No she doesn't. And she can't know."

Justin didn't say anything, just walked straight out of his dad's office. Vaughan shouted for him to comeback but Justin ignored him as he made his way to the art room.

...

When Justin came into the art room, at the end of the lesson Floyd knew something was wrong. "Where we're you?" Allie asked as the last of the pupils left the room, leaving the two Westbrooks and Justin alone in the room.

"I was talking to my dad." Justin replied and Floyd couldclearly hear the anger in Justins voice.

"Justin, you should leave." Floyd tried to say, worried about what the angry teen might say to his mum.

"No, my dad doesn't think you should know this but I do. When we were at the clinic, Leo saw him and my mum together."

"Together how." Allie asked and Floyd could feel a sinking feeling in his gut.

"Kissing. Leo saw them kissing. He still my mum and it's only a matter of time before he kicks you to the curb androcles home with us." Allie didn't say anything, just stood there in silence.

"mum." Floyd said, worry evident in his voice.

"you're lying." Allie's voice was shaky when she said this.

"Ask him yourself." Justin replied, a smug grin on his face.

"Floyd, don't tell your sister." Allie said before turning and leaving the room. Justin turned that smug grin on Floyd then and the other boy saw red.

He pushed Justin into the wall anger running through him. "how could you tell that?" Floyd shouted, anger running through him.

"Don't you think your mum deserves to know the truth. My dad and mum kissed. He still loves her not your tart of a mum."

"Our deluded. Your dad left her for my mum. He doesn't love yours and they aren't ever getting back together." Before Justin could respond, Floyd pushed past him in search of Tiffany.

...

"Do you still have feelings for Olga?" that was the first thing Allie asked when she walked into the office. Vaguhan was silent, unsure how to reply.

"I care about her but I don't love her." he went to touch Allie but she pushed him away.

"Justin said you kissed her. At the clinic." Vaughan closed his eyes, anger towards his oldest son welling up. He couldn't believe that Justin could be so vindictive as to tell Allie that.

"she kissed me. But I don't love her. I love you."

"I wish I could believe you Vaughan." There were tears in allies eyes now.

"Allie, I promise I don't love Olga."

"But Justin thinks you do. And probably Leo to. I can't handle this anymore Vaughan. I can't handle Justin trying st every turn to split us up. And I don't want Floyd and Tiffany to get dragged into this. I love you Vaughan but I have to think of my children. I have to do what's best for them. And you yours to. And us being together, just isn't it."

"Allie." Vaughan started, tears coming to his eyes as Allie pulled away from him. "I'll talk to Justin. We can sort this out just please." Allie didn't say anything. She was crying now and all Vaughan wanted to do was pull her into a hug but instead allure could do was watch as she pulled away from him and left.

**Hope you enjoyed and please review. **


	13. Chapter 13

Leo came home that night to he'll erupting quite literally. After telling Justin, he'd tried to find his brother but hadn't been able to so had resolved to talk with him at home, hoping Justin hadn't done something stupid before them. Except he had and Leo wasn't surprised. Justin had always wanted their dad back, no matter the consequences. What he hadn't expected was the fight that was half underway when he walked through the door. And it was all his fault.

"Allie don't do this. We can talk. Just please." Vaughan shouted as Allie moved around, packing her things into a suitcase.

"Mum we can't just leave." Tiffany yelled after her.

"This isn't fair mum. We shouldn't have to leave." Floyd shouted. "They should leave this is their fault not ours."

"Allie please, listen to me. I love you not Olga. Just stay so we can talk." Vaughan added into the shouting as Allie continued to move around.

The voices were carrying towards Leo as he stood in the doorway, watching the chaos surrounding them. Tiffany was crying as she clutched onto Justin arm. Justin looked guilty as he tried to comfort Tiffany while Floyd looked angry and Vaughan desperate. None of them seemed to notice Leo standing there as guilt poured over him. If he'd just not told Justin then none of would be happening. Everything would be fine.

Leo felt his hands going to his arms, s ranching at the raw skin there. The cuts had mostly healed so Leo couldn't break the skin easily, no matter hownhard he might want to. A sudden craving for the touch of cold metal on his skin started to become overwhelming as Justin added his voice to the shouting.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. Dad I'm sorry."

"Allie please, well talk about this. Justin shouldn't have said anything to you about this. It was nothing. Nothing happened."

"I can't live like this." Allie finally shouted. "It's not fair on Floyd or Tiffany or me. I can't do this anymore Vaughan."

"That's our decision mum. We want to stay." Tiffany shouted.

"This isn't our fault mum you can't just make us leave." Floyd added as Leo felt a dizzying sensation fall over him. His feet were heading to the kitchen and no one noticed.

"Just let us talk about this. Please." Vaughan pleaded again and then the voices were muffled in Leo's ears.

The kitchen knife was bigger than the razor ever was and as Leo pressed it to his skin, he felt some of the guilt was away from him. The blood ran down his arm sickening him slightly but Leo couldn't seem to stop himself from pressing any harder. This was wrong. The way his dad and brother had reacted upon hearing about his self-harming had told him that but Leo just couldn't bring himself to care in that moment.

He needed an outlet. A way to rid himself of the guilt at telling justin. The guilt at causing his dad and Allie and Tiffany and Floyd and even Justin pain. All of this was his fault and the guilt was eating him alive.

Guilt at causing his mum to be so stressed she'd gone into that clinic. Guilt at not being enough for his dad that Vaughan had had to leave them for someone else. Guilt at doing exactly whatnot was doing now. Leo just wanted to scream. To let everything out. All the jangle up emotions inside but all he could do was keep pressing the blade deeper into his arm. A steady stream of blood was dripping onto the tiled floor now but Leo still couldn't stop.

All he could think of was how easy it would be for everyone if he just wasn't there. His dad could focus more on Allie and her family then. He could be happy. And maybe if he wasn't there getting in the way his dad would have the time to calm Justin down. and his mum would have less stress then. So she'd bet better.

Slowly, Leo pressed the blade deeper and deeper into his own skin. A certain amount of clarity fell upon the youngest Fitzgerald as his vision blurred. Doing this was what was best for everyone. No one would notice anyone. No one would care. He was the quiet one. Never having anything to say, preferring to instead sit in a corner and play on his phone. It might hurt them a little but not that much. Soon they forget about him and they'd all be happier for him having done this.

The blood trickled down on this the tiled floor as Leo felt his legs give out. He sprawled on the floor, the knife clattering out of his hand as his vision blurred into blackness. His last thought as he finally lost consciousness was that everyone could be happier now they didn't have to worry about him.

...

Justin had come home to find Vaughan shouting at him. Anger set in his dad's tone. Allie and her children weren't there when he entered so Justin had received the brunt of Vaughan's anger as his dad shouted at him, telling him how selfish he was. And then Allie had come home and started packing.

Tiffany had been in bits, crying and Justin had found himself hesitantly pulling her into a hug. He cared about her and as Allie packed and Floyd glared right at him he'd felt all the anger slide away. He felt disgusted at himself for causing this. For telling his dad.

All he'd wanted sincenhis dad had left was for him to come back home, oblivious to how his dad might feel. And now he might get that wish Justin felt sick. This wasn't what he wanted. He didn't want to cause his dad pain. He didn't even want to hurt Allie no matter how much he blamed her.

As Tiffany buried her head into his shoulder, Justin felt the ladt bit of anger fade away to be replaced with guilt. He couldn't believe he'd done this and there was no way he could fix it.

...

She knew she had to go but all Allie could feel as she put the last item of Tiffany's clothing into a suitcase was overwhelming grief. Allie didn't blame Vaughan. Not really. She knew he was telling the truth that he loved her and not Olga. But she had to think of her kids and them being here was not good for them. Vaughan might be a brilliant father but his own kids were causing her children to fall apart.

They didn't need to stress of Justin anger and Leo's depression hanging over them. Just like she didn't need the content threat of Olga because Vaughan would never be rid of the woman. They had two children. So she had to Leave. She had to leave so everyone else was fine. No matter how much it broke her.

...

Tiffany was silent as Floyd pulled her into the kitchen. The shouting had finally stopped, Vaughan and Allie having gone upstairs to talk. Justin had sat down in the living room, ignoring everyone and Tiffany knew he was feeling guilty about what he'd done.

Neither said anything as they entered the kitchen. To wrapped up in their own thoughts to make conversation. Neither wanted to leave but their mum had already made that decision. Tiffany just hoped that Vaughan could persuade their mum to stay.

As they walked into the kitchen, a spot of red caught Tiffany's eyes. Frowning, she followed the platter of red along the floor. It looked a lot like paint. Bright red paint except this was pooling on the floor. "What the..." Floyd started but Tiffany's scream cut him off.

Lying behind the counter was Leo, with a pool of bright red blood surrounding his pale lifeless form.

**Well this went a little more morbid than I'd originally planned but I hope you like it anyway. Please review and hole you enjoyed either way. **


	14. Chapter 14

Justin heard the scream and immediately ran towards it. What he saw made his heart stop. Pushing Floyd and Tiffany out of the way, Justin fell to his knees beside Leo's still form. "Leo? Leo?" Justin said, gently pushing the hair out of Leo's closed eyes. His little brothers glasses had broken in the fall so he took them off Leo's face as tears ran down his face. Vaughan was beside him then. He was saying something but Justin couldn't hear him. The only thing he could focus on was his little brother and the still bleeding cut at his wrist.

...

Vaughan pressed a cloth to Leo's arm as he glanced at Justin. His oldest son was crying, something he hadn't done in years but Vaughan could hardly blame him. Leo was dealt pale and looked painfully fragile lying on the floor with blood pooling around him.

"He broke his glasses." Justin croaked out as he continued to store his brother head.

"We'll get him a new pair." Vaughan replied, breathing a sigh of relief as he felt a thin pulse at Leo's wrist. Weak but still their.

...

Allie quietly ushered Floyd and Tiffany out of the room as she pulled out her phone and called the ambulance. After hanging up she slowly made her way out of the kitchen. Tiffany was crying silently into Floyd's arms as her son fought the tears that were forming in his own.

"Mum is Leo..." Tiffany was unable to finish the question as she broke down again into Floyd's arms.

"I don't know." Allie whispered, tears running down her own cheeks. All she could think of was how petty she'd been and how none of them had noticed how far gone Leo had become.

...

When the paramedics finally came, Vaughan had to pull Justin to his feet and away from Leo. The knife was still lying onnthe floor next to Leo and Vaughan couldnseenthe way the paramedics were glancing at it and back to Leo's injury.

"I'll follow in the car." Allie said, giving Vaughan a kiss in the cheek as Tiffany grabbed a holding Justin. His oldest son had a splosh look on his face as they watched Leo being transferred onto the stretcher.

Vaughan quickly climbed into the back of the ambulance behind Leo and the paramedics and then they were off to the hospital. The ride was a blur, Vaughan never taking his eyes off Leo as someone asked him questions. He didn't even remember stopping but the next thing he knew, they were loading Leo out of the ambulance and into the hospital.

"You can't go through there." a nurse stopped him as he was about to follow the paramedics through a pair of swinging doors.

"He's my son." Vaughan replied.

"I'm sorry but you'll have to wait outside." knowing there was no arguing, Vaughan sat on a seat looking down at his hands. Only then did he notice the red staining them. Leo's blood.

...

Justin didn't say a thing as he watched the ambulance drive away. Floyd passed Justin his coat as Allie went to grab the car keys but Justin just looked at it. "Why would he do that?" Justin finally managed to get out.

"I don't know Justin." Allie's voice was hesitant as she sat next to him on the couch. Tiffany had an arm around Justin's shoulder.

"He's my little brother. He should have talked to me. This is all my fault." Justin didn't even care that it was Allie sitting next to him as he let the tears fall. All he could think of was Leo lying on the floor. "He looked dead."

"Don't say that." Floyd stated. "Justin, Leo isn't dead. He'll be fine." Justin looked at the red-head strangely. He couldn't understand why Floyd, of all people was the one trying to make him see sense. Finally he nodded.

"Come on." Allie said, heading to the car. Justin followed slowly, Leo's glasses still cl need in his hands.

...

"Where is he?" was the first thing Justin asked when they found Vaughan.

"With the doctors." Vaughan replied and Floyd could see the deflated look on Justin's face. Slowly, Justin took a seat next to Vaughan as Allie took the other side of Vaughan and Tiffany went to sit next to Justin.

"I'm gonna go and get coffee." Floyd said, feeling a little awkward standing there.

As he left them in the waiting area, Floyd found himself wandering the hospital grounds. Ever since meeting Vaughan's children, he'd been a little hesitant of them. He'd felt a little insecure about meeting them, worried about how Vaughan might treat them when his own sons were there and Justin punching him when they first met hadn't really helped.

Truthfully, Floyd didn't like Justin but that was partly because the older Fitzgerald was not easy to get on with sometimes. Leo though, Floyd liked Leo. He was a nice kid if a little quiet but Floyd had seen how he'd opened up a little more as he got to know them. What he hadn't expected, was the dark secret that Leo was hiding. Self-harming to cope wasn't good, Floyd knew that but what he was most surprised at was how Leo had taken it this far. To actually try to kill himself was almost unbelievable. Almost.

Floyd wasn't blind or stupid. He'd seen how Vaughan had been so wrapped up with Justin and Allie that he had chosen to ignore Leo. And Justin was as bad. He was always focused on trying to split Allie and Vaughan up and now Justin was dating Tiffany. That annoyed Floyd but not so much as the way they'd all ignored Leo.

Even when they found out what Leo was doing, they all chosen to ignore it. Sure Vaughan had tried to get Leo some help but it obviously hadn't worked. And then his mum deciding they were leaving had caused the Fitzgeralds to once more forget Leo was even there.

So no, Floyd couldn't really blame Leo for doing what he did. It wasn't like anyone had shown they cared about him.

...

"I need to call Olga." Vaughan said after a while silence. "She needs to know." Justin looked up from where he'd been sitting and for a moment Vaughan thought he was going to argue. Instead Justin just nodded, his head following back down to look at the broken glasses in his hands.

"Do you need me to do anything?" Allie asked but Vaughan just shook his head. There wasn't anything able could do and it wasn't fair to ask her.

"You should head back home, we might be here a while."

"No, we're staying." Tiffany argued. Floyd had just come back from wherever he'd gone and nodded in agreement.

"Leo's part of our family now so we're not going anywhere." Vaughan looked a little surprised at the two westbrooks but nodded, getting to his feet. Floyd took the seat he'd previously occupied to sit next to Justin and to Vaughan's utter surprise Justin didn't say anything nasty to him. Instead the three just sat in silence, Tiffany and Floyd offering silent comfort to Justin.

Allie came with him to outside the hospital. "I'm sorry Vaughan."

"there's nothing for you to apologise over Allie. This is my fault and I don't blame you for wanting to leave." Vaughan replied, not wanting to have another argument. He already felt guilty enough as it was.

"I'm staying. I think you all need the support right now and Floyd's right. I may not get on well with Justin but their your family so your son's are mine now to. Well get through this together."

"I didn't think I could love you anymore." Vaughan told her as he pulled her into a hug, kissing her.

"Call Olga, I'll go and keep any eye on the kids." Vaughan nodded. As he watched Allie go and pulled out his phone a deep set of guilt fell over him. If he'd just paid more attention to Leo then none of this would have happened. Except it had and now he had to tell Olga. And then she'd probably kill him.

**I know ther isn't much Leo in this chapter but I wanted to explore what the other characters thought. Also, I really wanted to get Vaughan and Allie together again because I love those two in the show. **

**As always please review and hope you enjoyed. **


	15. Chapter 15

"You can see him now." the doctor said as he walked into the waiting room. It had been nearly 2 hours and everyone had been feeling more and more downtrodden as the minutes ticked by. Now, though, Justin jumped to his feet and went towards the room the doctor had told them Leo was in.

"Is he alright?" Vaughan asked, pulling the doctor to one side.

"He's still unconcious but we've done a blood transfusion so he should wake up in a few hours." Vaughan sighed in relief. "We'd like to give him a session with a psychiatrist when he's better though. The injuries were self inflicted and it's obvious he's been self harming. At a guess, I think your son has depression but a therapist is better placed to tell us how serious."

"Can you help him though?" Vaughan asked. He knew Leo wouldn't want the help but it had come to a point where Vaughan couldn't ignore it anymore. Not if he didn't want his youngest to become like Olga.

"There are anti-depressants and other methods we can try. But Leo is in the best hands."

"Thank you." Vaughan said before following Justin to Leo's room.

...

Justin stopped at the doorway. Leo was lying in the bed, deathly pale with an IV in his arm and a breathing mask over his face. a hand on his shoulder made him jump as Justin turned to face his dad. Neither said anything as they entered the room. The machines were beeping slowly as Justin took a seat. He took Leo's hand into his own, frowning at the frail way his brothers wrist looked.

The cuts were more evident than before. White criss crosses covering his little brother pale skin. The hand his dad had a hold of was wrapped in a wad of bandages. Where Leo had cut himself. Put a knife to skin and tried to kill himself.

Justin placed the broken glasses on Leo's bedside table. Floyd had repaired them with some tape he'd bought in the hospital shop while Allie had promised to get new ones first thing tomorrow. "I sent Allie and the others home." Vaughan said, not moving his eyes from Leo's face. "and I called mum. She'll be here tomorrow."

"Okay." Justin said. He didn't have the energy to try to make conversation and neither did his dad so they just sat in silence. Sat in silence, waiting for Leo to wake up.

...

The first thing Leo became aware of when he woke up was a dull ashe in his left arm. Groaning, Leo shifted in the bed where he was met with resistance. "Hey, Leo calm down." Justin voice floated into Leo's ears as the younger slowly opened his eyes.

Everything was blurred but he could sort of make out his dad and brothers faces. "Hey, we're here now. Just don't try to move to much." Vaughan said and Leo would have nodded if he had the energy.

Someone he didn't know came in then, removing the mask on his face and doing something at the corner of the room. It was frustrating not being able to see what she was doing but Leo just didn't have the energy to try and turn his head.

"What h'ppened?" Leo slurred, blinking the tiredness from his eyes. Justin and Vaughan shared a look before Vaughan answered.

"You tried to kill yourself." There was a hitch of emotion in Vaughan's voice as the memories came flooding back. The argument. The feeling of uilt, that everything would be better if he wasn't there.

"You really scared us Leo." Justin voice cracked and was his brother crying. Leo didn't think he'd ever seen Justin cry before. A mix of emotions flooded Leo but he just didn't have the energy to try and decider them.

"Get some sleep. Well talk more when your better." Vaughan said, gently kissing Leo's head as he slowly closed his eyes. "I love you son." Vaughan murmured into Leo's hair as his youngest slowly drifted back into unconcious.

...

The next time Leo woke up it was to Justin sleeping at the side of his bed and the seat his dad had been in last time empty. Leo looked closely at his brother, seeing the signs of stress on his features. Guilt welled up when he saw the tear marks on Justin's face. His brother had been crying and recently. His brother who never cried, not even when their dad had gone. And Leo had caused it.

Glancing at the clock, Leo saw it was just past 3 in the morning. They'd been there all night. As Leo watched Justin sleeping, he thought back to what he'd done and all he could think was what had he done. Pressing the knife into his skin had been a relief but right now he felt sick.

He was in a hospital. An iv in his arm, which was stinging like he'll from the jagged cut he'd made on his wrist. Justin was sleeping on an armchair, upset because Leo had tried to kill himself. The guilt ate away at Leo and it was at this point he would have reached for a knife but the simple thought just made him sick.

He'd caused so much hurt by doing a simple act. And he hated himself for it.

...

The next day at school had been difficult for Allie, Floyd and Tiffany. Vaughan and Justin had stayed off, neither wanting to leave Leo and Allie could hardly blame them for it. She'd talked with Vaughan that morning and was glad to hear Leo had woken up but she could still hear the strain in Vaughan's voice. It had hit him hard, Justin to.

Explaining what had happened to the teachers had been a bit of a trial but thankfully maggie, Christine and Simon had managed to get the other members of staff to quieten down. The rest of the day had been a blur of classes and worry. Thankfully, waterloo road had been relatively uneventful that day.

She wasn't going to come to the hospital, wanting to give Leo some time alone with his dad and brother but Floyd and Tiffany had wanted to check up on him. Truthfully, Allie did to so it didn't take much persuading for her to drive to the hospital straight from school.

As she parked up, a taxi pulled up outside the hospital. Taking no notice of it, Allie and her children exited the car and headed inside. That was until the woman in the taxi got out and Allie froze in place. "Mum, what is it?" Tiffany asked, turning to look back at Allie.

"nothing, you two head inside." Allie said, motioning for Floyd and Tiffany to go. Both gave her strange looks but did as she asked. When they were gone, Allie turned to face Vaughan's wife.

**Decided to end it here hope you enjoyed and please review :-) **


	16. Chapter 16

**This is the last chapter now as I'm not sure how else to continue. However, if enough people ask I might write a sequel about Leo's recovery. So please enjoy and thank you for reading, reviewing, favouriting and following :-D **

"this is your fault. Your fault that my son is in the hospital. Your fault for taking his dad away from him. Away from our family." Olga yelled as soon as she saw Allie standing there.

"Olga, just calm down." Allie said but the other woman ignored her. From the way she was acting, Allie was starting to guess where Justin got his temper from.

"calm down. How can I calm down when my son tried to kill himself and the batch that took my husband away is trying to replace me."

"No one is trying to replace you Olga. We both just want to help Leo get better." Allie tried to say bit that just seemed to make Olga angrier.

"Leo is my son. Not yours. What right do you have to help him? I'm his mother not you. I want you gone. I don't want you or your children anywhere near my son." Olga was in tears now and Allie felt at a complete loss. Luckily, Vaughan appearance by her side then.

"Floyd said something was wrong..." he started before he saw Olga standing there. "Olga, are you alright?"

"Alright. Of course I'm not alright. Your shut knew Leo was hurt before me. You should have told me not waited until he did something stupid." Allie felt a wrench in her heart as Vaughan went to Olga, who promptly collapsed in his arms.

"Leo didn't want to worry you but your right, I should have called." meeting allies eyes, Vaughan mouthed an apology which Allie quickly shook off. She didn't blame Vaughan for comforting Olga, not when Leo was olga's.

Nodding to the door, Allie quickly left the two outside the hospital as she went inside, hoping to get Floyd and Tiffany out of there before Olga could yell at them to.

...

"You should have called me." Olga shouted as Allie disappeared.

"I know and I'm sorry but Leo asked me not to and I though he was getting better." Vaughan shouted back, remembering the times before they'd broken up and the arguments they'd had.

"Leo is me son. I deserved to know instead of being locked up in that clinic." Vaughan went to say something else but Olga continued before he could. "all of this is your fault."

"I know." Vaughan replied, all of the fight draining out of him at once. All he could think of was Leo, lying on the kitchen floor with blood pooling from his wrists. Leo may have done it but Vaughan was the reason.

...

Floyd walked into the hospital room a little nervously. Leo was sitting up in the bed, while Justin was talking to his little brother. As he and Tiffany walked in, Leo let out a small laugh. Something Floyd didn't think he'd ever heard Leo do in the short time they'd known eachother. Both boys fell silent however, upon seeing Floyd and Tiffany standing there.

"Are you okay Leo?" Tiffany asked, taking a seat next to Justin who placed his arm over Tiffany's shoulder. A few days ago that might have bothered Floyd but not any more.

"Yeah. Erm...I'm really sorry about worrying you and for..." Leo trailed off, eyes going to his hands in his lap. Floyd noticed that a large bandage covered Leo's left worst, where the blade had run over Leo's skin.

"there's nothing to apologise for." Floyd stated, taking a seat on the other side of Leo, facing Justin. The older Fitzgerald gave Floyd an odd look but when he saw Floyd obviously wasn't going to try and hurt Leo, just instead gave him a small smile.

"I know but...I'm sorry anyway." Leo said, still not raising his eyes.

"Hey." Justin suddenly said, gently pulling his younger brother into a one sided hug. Leo smiled a little, raising his eyes as he did so. Floyd noticed there were tears in the younger eyes but he ignored them, knowing Leo wouldn't want to talk about that with Floyd and Tiffany there.

"Mum went by specsavers on the way in by the way." Tiffany said, changing the subject as she took Leo's new glasses from her bag. "figured they'd be a bit uncomfortable." she continued, motioning to the glasses Justin had fixed with tape.

"thanks." Leo smiled as he took them from Tiffany and out them in.

The 4 sat in silence for a while before the door to the room reopened and Allie walked in. "how are you feeling Leo?" she asked.

"Fine." Leo replied as an awkward silence filled the room.

"I bet that question's gonna get old." Floyd said, wanting to break the tension. Leo smiled a little but otherwise no one said anything.

"I'm glad but we've got to get going." Allie said. Floyd and Tiffany were about to argue when Vaughan and Olga walked in.

...

"mum?" Justin said, jumping to his feet to give Olga a hug. Leo could only sit in silence as guilt washed over him. Of course his dad would tell his mum he was in the hospital.

"how could you do something so stupid Leo?" Olga asked, ignoring Justin as she sat on the other side of Leo. The younger Fitzgerald felt tears in his eyes.

"Sorry." Olga didn't say anything, just pulled Leo into a hug as she started crying. As soon as she started though Leo felt the tears in his own eyes come out. All of the emotions he thought he'd gotten rid of through cutting came to the surface as he cried into his mum's shoulder. He was vaguely aware of Allie and her children leaving the room as Justin and Vaughan took seats.

"I'm really really sorry. I didn't mean to do any of this. It just happened and I couldn't stop myself and..."

"It's not yppour fault Leo." Vaughan cut him off but Leo shook his head.

"no, please I want to say this." Leo sent his dad a pleading look. Vaughan frowned but nodded for Leo to talk. "it is my fault. I though I could deal with everything by cutting except it didn't hep and I swear I didn't realise was cutting to deep until it was to late. I. Should have talked instead of doing that and you can't take the blame for me hurting myself because it was my choice, you didn't for e me to do it. It was my fault and I'm sorry."

"It's not..." Olga started but Justin cut in.

"We should have noticed. I shouldn't upshould have noticed."

"You couldn't when I wouldn't even admit something was wrong." Leo argued.

"Justin right, we should have noticed because your my son and Justin brother. Someone should have noticed you werent alright and don't interrupt Leo." Vaughan said when Leo went to open his mouth. "What you did was the completely wrong way of dealing with this and maybe you should have told us but you can't take all the blame." Leo nodded.

"We love you Leo so please don't do anything like this again." Olga said, once more pulling Leo into a hug.

Leo found himself nodding. "I promise." and this time he meant to keep it.

**Hope you enjoyed and please review :-) **


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